Fri Apr 11

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the names Lord and against.

Reading

2 Chronicles 36:15–21—The Lord’s wrath

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

God is patient and compassionate against sinners, for a time.
God will punish those who do evil and won’t repent.
God may use wicked people to discipline his own people.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

What did the Lord do toward Judah in his compassion?
What did the Lord do toward Judah in his wrath?
How long would God’s people be in exile in Babylon?

Notes

Over and over God had shown mercy. We see His patience, His provision, His compassion, and His justice. These are not merely temporary actions or attitudes of God in this particular situation. This is God’s character. His words to Moses reflect His character in a similar way, Exodus 34:6–7 (CSB) The LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

So, God brought consequences. Because Judah had so stirred up God’s wrath, God brought the Babylonians against them (v17). This was no ordinary warfare; rather, God used an idolatrous, heathen nation to bring about His judgment on those people called by His name. Although the writer of the book of 2 Kings takes a full chapter to describe the exile, here we have only a brief summary. Brief, but still terrible. No pity. Death to many – including the choice young men. Looting of the articles from the temple. Burning of the temple. Destruction of the wall around Jerusalem. Fierce wrath. But the wrath of God, not merely of Nebuchadnezzar.

But remember—today is always the day to repent!

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday reading for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 80, 10a

Prayer

Ask God to keep you regularly repenting of your sin.
Pray for the hearing of God’s word preached this Sunday.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.